Remotely Controlled
by himitsutsubasa
Summary: "Six is gone." It takes a moment for that to sink into to Kyntak's drugged mind. "It's my fault." - Vanish sucessfully kidnaps Six. It's up to Kyntak to save him before he gets arrested for being an accomplice to a crime he didn't commit. Otherwise, he might as well say arividerchi to seeing his brother, and best friend, ever again.
1. Chapter 1

Wall is up. Sorry, Titian16. I lost the file.

* * *

Nai was missing.

Crexe was kidnapped.

The Deck was in an uproar.

Six and Kyntak looked at each other.

"I'd appreciate you watching my back." Six said. His eyes never strayed from Kyntak's face.

Kyntak smiled. "Only if you watch mine."

"Deal. I'll let you know when we have the address."

Six's cell phone buzzed in his pocket.

"Let's go," said Kyntak.

* * *

Dust shrouded the floor and Six couldn't do anything about it. He pressed on, gun extended. Bodies lay scattered on the floor. They looked unconscious, as if sedated. It's either Kyntak or me, and I didn't do this. Kyntak's job was a clean one. They were disarmed and lay as if they were asleep. The roar of helicopters sliced through his thoughts. He grabbed the gun of the nearest soldier, an Eagle, and checked the magazine.

Whipping around, he saw the Twin nearing. It kicked up dust everywhere, sending clouds into his face. A whistling noise erupted though the air and a tranquilizer dart thudded into his neck. Six's brain only registered a second of pain before a sense of calm overtook him. The sedative began its work.

A net flew through the air. The weights were claws reaching for him. Six scrabbled to get away but his legs melted underneath him. The wall seemed to tilt and turn as he tumbled.

Plaster cracked and crumbled under his head, but there was no pain. Stars exploded around him and everything wavered like the space around a too hot flame. The net wobbled and shifted in his vision.

Six fell to his knees.

The Twin descended and grew close enough for Six to see the pilot. The helicopter was trying to land. The pilot started fiddling with his seatbelt. A chill overcame Six as his thoughts traveled further. It had all been a trap, an elegantly portrayed farce. They never wanted to crush the Deck.

They wanted him. And, he had taken the bait.

Six's instinct kicked in. If anything, he wanted to run, but his legs were made of lead. Six tried to use his arms to crawl away, but they didn't even support his weight. He felt his weight fall forward as he tried to crawl out from under the net.  
The sound of the helicopter sounded farther away now. Six struggled to pick himself up.

A dark shadow passed over him.

He struggled against the arms that secured him. A dulled throb came from the other side of his neck. They hefted him over their shoulders. Six felt the four hands secure clasps on his wrists and ankles.

There was a muffled sound. It sounded like his name. His vision blurred and he barely registered getting thrown into the helicopter. The door closed and gunfire erupted. There was the sound of returned fire.

The Twin lifted into the air, blades slicing into the clouds. Winds picked up and Kyntak appeared out of the haze. He put his arms up against the wind and batted dust from his eyes as the helicopter took off.

Kyntak's scared face reached his eyes. Six's heart raced a bit. Kyntak. But, he couldn't move. A sound barely reached his ears as he strained to hear what came out of Kyntak's mouth. The words were lost to the wind. There was a brief second as Kyntak hurled a chunk of steel at them.  
Six saw Kyntak vanish. He heard the end to the gun fire. The churning blades above his head seemed dulled. His vision blurred. If his muscles were complaining, they were being quiet about it. Everything disappeared.

And then, he saw and felt nothing

* * *

Kyntak cursed under his breath as the Twin vanished. He stared into the sky. Six was a great agent. He would be okay. _Right?_ Somehow, it felt unlikely. The moment the Twin took Six, all the pieces came together into one large, and frankly uncomfortable puzzle. The whole thing was a set up, a huge, well-executed trap, and they walked right into it.

Only a moment later he noticed the thing sticking out of him. A dart.

He slumped.

Vision fading.

Balance slipping.

_I remember this feeling_, he thought with a grimace.

His stream of consciousness shut down as his head hit the concrete and plaster.

* * *

Ace of Diamonds wasn't looking at him. She tapped her fingers in a specific rhythm on her tablet computer. He remembered the time she showed him how to use the touch screen. She always used to say it was more digitized than paper and less bulky than a laptop.  
Kyntak knew she didn't blame him. She would never blame him for something like this. She'd seen too many people who were gone and their teammates threw blame around. Really, there was no one to blame. Life ran its course.

Two was on a table nearby. A white cloth was laying over the body but Kyntak could imaging the funny fellow's smile. The happy memories they shared fell to the floor between them.

Six wasn't there either. Six was gone. Kyntak bit back a wave of regrets. I made that mistake. I should have watched where I was going. I should have been a better shot. I should have…

"How are the soldiers?"

She looked up from the report she was writing.

"Not well. They're still unconscious." Kyntak didn't know what to make of that. Still unconscious? I'm sure I didn't kill them. I should have. But that won't bring Six home. He looked over the file. This was a time to act like Six.

The reports were what she told him earlier. Nine millimeters for both but different guns. Post mortenm bruising for Two. Crexe had been dead in his cell and moved afterwards. There was a tattoo on Crexe's chest.

"Oh, that reminds me, the code you received was a time and place. King's upstairs looking at it." She looked at him with soft peridot eyes. "Six's a great agent. He'll be alright." Kyntak only nodded.

I hope so.

* * *

"Kyntak, I'm so glad you could join us." King was glaring at a computer screen like it was the devil itself. That brought up a few questions about whether or not he was religious. Questions that Kyntak was smart enough not to ask. _He already blames me for Six. I can't mess this up._

"They still can't find him."

"The signal?"

"Dead." The computer filled the awkward silence with numbers. The browser window was opened to the site. The only thing on the black

screen was a set of six numbers.

00:03:15

Always numbers. He hated math in school.

King looked like someone had gone through his heart with a vacuum and sucked everything out. Kyntak stayed silent staring at the screen as he sat on the edge of the desk.

"Did you disable cookies?"

"Yes." King sounded like he was lecturing a child. "It was part of the new shipment to the Diamonds, if you were wondering. It's got nothing but ChaoOffice and a firewall Grysat rigged. Not that we'll need it. This isn't even hooked up to the Deck system yet."

"What if it's a bomb?" Kinglooked at him, finally.

He schooled his face. "We already have Diamonds searching. Besides, they wouldn't give us a count down." _Oh, really? I tease prisoners for the fun of it. Why won't they?_

"It could be them throwing us off," Kyntak offered.

"I'm not evacuating this building." King returned his gaze to the computer.

"What if more people die?" The words hung between them on a flapping clothes line. What. If. More. People. Die.

"There is no bomb. The person who rigged this was smart. Smarter than ChaoSonic. Smarter than Deck. He wiped the floor with our Hearts and proceeded to kidnap Six. Really, I think you are the only person who got out of this unscathed!"

King glared at him through hemorrhaged veins. Kyntak stood his ground but felt something wilt inside. King was frustrated. His son was gone. Kyntak knew exactly how it felt. He worried more over Six than the Deck combined. Six who was drugged. Six who was gone. _And it's my fault._

00:02:03

King shrunk back. "I'm sorry. I lost my temper. There was nothing you could do about the situation."

"There were a million things I could have done."

"No. There was one. That was letting them take you. And Six would be the one here worrying over whether you were alive. That would be much worse."

00:01:35

"Really?"

"He would have ordered me to evacuate the building and start a city wide sweep."

"I thought you were already doing the sweep."

"Exactly." Forgiveness was a long ways away, but they would get there.

A thought occurred to Kyntak. "Can we record this?"

"We are. Grysat set it up. But, who knows it may have a copyright filter." King let a weak smile take his face. It was meant to be reassuring. It failed. "We're both jumpy."

00:00:59

"We both have had a rough day."

"Yeah."

Kyntak felt a pain rise in his chest. No bomb. No Six. He couldn't stand the anticipation.

00:00:21

He closed his eyes imagining the face of his best friend. Kyntak opened them in time to see the numbers.

_00:00:03_

_00:00:02_

_00:00:01_

_00:00:00_

Kyntak's vision went blurry as he saw the screen hit zero and went dead.

* * *

Nothing. Nothing happened. Kyntak expected an explosion. An evil chuckle. A voice over saying, "Game over". Something. And he got nothing.

The anticlimax blew him out of the water more than a climax. And it hit him like a brick.

"The bomb is…"

"Somewhere else," King finished. They looked at each other. "I'll call the Diamonds."

The screen flickered back to life. What they saw drove as chill down their bones.

They saw a dimly lit figure. It was a man. His head was shaved and his clothes were dirty. He was bloody and bruised, tied down to a chair.

There was another person, a woman. They looked horribly out of place against the mortar back ground.

The woman walked forward and yanked the man's head up. Bruised and bloodied, it was Six. King gasped at the sight of his son, but Kyntak ignored him.

"I have in my possession," she announced, "Agent Six of Hearts."

Kyntak's heart stopped.

* * *

Again, sorry for delay.


	2. Chapter 2

"I will be one million credits richer. I could sell him to Chaosonic, I'm sure they will love to have him back. Or I could test him until I have a million credits worth of information."

Kyntak knew the signs of life. There were none.

"However, you could deposit that amount in a nominated account before six o' clock and I will return Six unharmed."

Ransom? Ransom! That was this was about! Kyntak tried not to seethe. The nets made a whole lot of sense.

"When verified, Six will be on the corner of 452nd street and the Seawall at seven o' clock."

"Don't test me."

The screen broke into a series of numbers and letters. The bank account.

King broke down. He let loose a stream of profanities, many of which Kyntak didn't know and filed away for later usage, that should have been censored. The whole moment should have been rated R.

"You okay?"

"No."

"Better?"

"Yes." King finished heaving and adjusted his tie. "Call Queen. We need to scrape together one million credits."

"You're going to pay up?" Kyntak asked, incredulous.

"We may have to…" Kyntak was off the edge of the desk.

"I could check out the drop off. They'll have a couple goons there. I can find them and bust them up before we have to pay up." Kyntak steeled

his glare. "They are not going to get away with this."

King watched Kyntak critically. "What's more important: Six or justice?"

"Six," Kyntak answered without a second thought. "Six, every time. But, what if they don't honor-"

King cut him off. He hit the print button and the inkjet hummed to life producing the details. "We'll play it safe. We'll let them have the money

and take it back later. There is no way they are going to keep it. It's nice to know you're still on my side."

"I'm on whatever side Six is on."

"Perfect. Call Ace of Diamonds and we'll go over the video."

* * *

By 15:30, they only knew a little more. They replayed the video on an endless loop only pausing to point out details.

There was little to see. Six's face sent an arrow to the heart every time Kyntak saw it.

The walls were quicklime and mortar.

Kyntak tried recalling all of the hide outs that had mortar in them. That left about half the City's basements as free game.  
And the chains. Six had been tied down with heavy, metal chains while he was unconscious. That does not look good.

Six had been stripped and was now wearing a bright orange that on a normal day Jyntak would have made fun of him for. Now he just cursed the fact it obscured Six's chest well enough they couldn't tell if he was breathing the first time around.

The thing they did get, upon sooming in, was the steady pulse of a jugular.

Six was alive. Not necessarily well, but alive. That was enough to send Kyntak into a fit of ecstasy.

"Wait." Kyntak put his hand on the table. "That last frame." Ace was already preparing a snap shot and fiddling with hue saturation and contrast.

Black hair. A once broken nose. Thin lips. Red eyes. Bloody red eyes.

King reacted the moment the image became clear. "Can we match this?"

Ace shook her head. "No. Her face is stretched and the ratio is unspecified. She could be a million people." Kyntak recalled something Six said once.

It was something he said over dinner. Just a casual conversation but now that could be very useful. He had cut off most of his ties to the underworld. Better that he got legitimate information that could be traced. This was useful. _Very useful indeed._

* * *

Six awoke to a white wall. He tensed and un-tensed every muscle in his body. All clear. He tried raising his hand to wipe his face, but it only clashed into metal. He tilted his head to look at the straps restraining him. The "straps" were more like copper cuffs.

"Ah, I see you're awake, Agent Six of Hearts." Six's head snapped up to see a dominatrix and a midget.

The woman was dressed in leather. Solid, black leather. Her gun was pointed at him.

The midget was dressed in a doctor's scrubs. He didn't look very much like a doctor. His manicured fingers and dress shoes suggested anything but doctor. _Time to scope out the situation._

"What?" He gave them a lost puppy look, using the distraction to survey the room. The dominatrix just stood there looking dangerous. But, not a threat unless I remain tied up.

The man's eyes widened and he his grin turned manic. "You really are Six of Hearts."

Give up or play along? Six crinkled his nose and furrowed his brow trying to look confused. "One of the guys on the team was called Six. Are you looking for him? I'm Kyntak, by the way." The man froze momentarily thrown.

"Kyntak?" Six found his card.

"Yeah, I'm Kyntak. Didn't you hear earlier?" The man looked taken aback for a fraction of a second. Six smirked inwardly but schooled his expression. "We're identical twins you realize."

"And you refer him as 'one guy'," the scientist wearied. Chances were that wasn't the most disturbing thing he heard.

Six did his best to shrug the way Kyntak did. It was difficult when you were strapped down to a table in an ugly orange jumper. "Long lost twin and all that. He didn't like me converging on his work space. Said I'm too loud and annoying." Six turned up the whining a little for affect. Finally, the subconscious things he had been doing for months would come into play.

"So there is another?" Six looked at him head tilted to one side. "Another Project falcon child?"

Six grinned. "Well, there were three. But, Six took care of the other one." He tried to look delighted. _This farce better work._

The scientist only grinned. "You are much more interesting than I expected, Six. Pretending to be your twin. Absolutely ingenious." He surveyed Six's condition. "I suppose he is going to try to rescue you. Too bad he won't get that far."

Six blanched a little. "I very much hope to have him under my microscope. He threw a chunk of metal large enough to take off a propeller. I am very impressed." He leaned in knowing Six's exact thought on the matter. "I'll see which one I like more."

Six pulled at the cuffs and tried to tug away. The man walked up with a syringe.

"I'm taking some blood. Hold still." Not sure if he should, Six complied realizing his refuzal would mean an electric shock. "Good." _Things could be worse._

Crimson fluid filled the tube. The scientist, _what I can guess at this rate_, gazed at the tube in wonder.

"Don't bother struggling." Six realized exactly what they could do using copper.

The man left the room with a vial of blood.

The woman left too, smiling as she did so.

* * *

Hollowed footsteps clattered down the hall. Earle Shuji looked up from her work.

In the door way stood someone she had never thought to see again.

"Hello, Kyntak."

* * *

WALL IS UP.


	3. Chapter 3

Wall of Disclaimers is up.

* * *

Kyntak sipped some tea and let Shuji finish the last few steps of the design. When she did finish, she turned in her spinning chair and asked what had been on her mind clearly the whole time.

"What do you want?" She didn't appear remotely happy to see him.

Kyntak wondered how he was going to phrase this. The long monologue he made up on the drive there was no the way to go. He didn't think she would help him at all. But, he needed his theory confirmed. Or better, denied.

"I need your help."

Earle snorted."Why should I help you? Last time you helped me, I was sent straight into the arms of Deck." Bitterness stained her voice as she recalled all that she could have had. She stared resolutely at the crystal coffee table in from of him. Even in her fall from grace, she still loved the rich opulence of her past life.

Kyntak wasn't sure what he could say. Everything was true. "This is for Six."

Shuji's eyes seemed to be distant. "Ah, that one. You seem to have a strong affection for that one."

"He is my brother." She seemed to ponder this for a moment.

Her gaze turned soft. "If had a son, I would want one like him. He let me leave the visitor center and gave me a new life."

_One that I could take away with the snap of my fingers._

The words hung unspoken between them.

Finally, she sighed, "For Six, I'll help you." She appeared thoughtful.

Kyntak let her think. She probably knew but had second thoughts on it. Divulging information on trust alone was enough to ask.

"I think you've seen the news. Six was taken then." Earle nodded. Everyone currently or formerly of the underworld watched the news. "Who could have organized that?" He paused momentarily. "I have my own suspicions."

Shuji's face contorted and she hissed at him, "Vanish."

Kyntak's face fell.

"Thought so." She blinked momentarily stunned as he ruffled his hair in frustration. Shuji hadn't seen this before. Such open guilt. It was unnerving.

Kyntak thought of all the things that the underworld taught him. The lesson that began with a smugglers ring and ended with a dozen cadavers being taped off by ChaoArmy officials taught him to never cross a certain man.

That man's name was Vanish.

That bad feeling was confirmed. The ghost was real.

Shuji refilled his tea. There was a much kinder look in her eyes.

She asked him to stay for biscuits.

He left feeling no better off than before.

How could one catch a man whose name spoke of his actions?

Vanish always vanished.

* * *

"I put a tag on the money. As soon as he transfers the money out, we'll know exactly where it is." King clapped Grysat on the shoulder. They were in the same empty office.

Kyntak didn't want to wallow. But, there was nothing else he could think of. Sure the plan was going to be brilliant. It was going to be amazing. Against anyone other against Vanish.

Kyntak wasn't sure how the man was going to do it, but Vanish would find a way to keep the money. And, if his information was correct, would probably empty the whole of Deck's account while he was at it. _No way to win. _

He'd seen ChaoSonic's file on Vanish. It appeared most of it was rumor. There was that one instance where Vanish had been apprehended. But, that was a disaster ending in over fifty casualties and the prisoner escaping. That was thirty years ago.

Kyntak thought over the history of Vanish's reign on the City's underworld. He had been in the crime business before long the Take-Over. That meant if Vanish was anything like Artemis Fowl (a pre-take-over novel boy), then he still would be in his sixties. King was in his forties and he only vaguely remembered the pre-Take-Over times. ChaoSonic had long concluded that Vanish was dead. The last thirty years of inactivity ensured it. However, that didn't sit properly. What would Six say in this situation? Kyntak felt a four by four of despair hit him in the chest.

Vanish was an organization. He wasn't a spider in the center of a web, he was a web! That explained how he could stay active over the years with so little change in style. A person changed dramatically. An organization where everyone was but a small change in the final product meant consistency.

Kyntak buried his face in his hands. His job just got that much harder.

* * *

A girl tied pink extensions into her hair. This was the first time she put them in to her waist length black hair. This was the first time she put on make-up. This was the first time she dressed to go clubbing.

This was the first time she was dressed to do something but wasn't going to do it.

Today, she was going to go on her first mission.

She didn't like the subject that she was to protect, but Daddy asked her to.

She always did what Daddy asked her to.

* * *

Queen of Spades ran her long fingernails over the name on the file.

Agent Six of Hearts.

Recently, she had gotten tips to look into his file.

She couldn't find anything wrong with it.

There was nothing wrong with it.

That was what was wrong with it.

Everyone had a blip.

Six had none.

The phone on her desk pinged and she picked up the receiver.

There was a pressing matter at hand.

She put down the phone and smiled at the scowling photo in the file.

There was a blip.

* * *

A knock came from the door. King sat up straight.

"I am Agent Seven of Spades. I am with Agent Nine of Spades. We are with the Queen of Spades. We are here for Employee Kyntak. We are to question him in relation to the kidnapping of Agent Six of Hearts." King felt a stone fall in his stomach. He pulled out the phone and tried to dial.

"Sir?"

"In a moment," he called out. The number wouldn't connect. Panic gripped his heart. He dialed another.

"Grysat?" The Spades pounded at the door.

Grysat was on the other end of the line He must have been playing Bejeweled or Tetris for he answered after the second ring. "'ello." The Spades sounded in the background and he could clearly hear the sound of a woman's voice.

"Can I get some Chinese take-out?" There was choking sound on the other end.

"Kung Pao Chicken?"

"Kung Pao Chiken." the choking sound got louder. The Spades rushed into the office and King watched as the Queen of Spades stepped in, the breathing example of control.

She smiled at him. "Good afternoon, King of Hearts."

King smiled at her. "Good afternoon, Queen of Spades." He turned to the other Spades.

"I was just ordering an early dinner. Anyone want anything?"


	4. Chapter 4

Wall of Disclaimers is up.

* * *

Grysat punched in the numbers to Kyntak's cellular.

King just used the code.

It meant, "Six is in an enormous, and when I say enormous I mean of mammoth proportions, amount of trouble and you need to call him and tell him that." This could just as easily apply to Kyntak.

Considering the code was kung pao chicken, Grysat did a good job of not totally freaking out.

He just redialed.

* * *

Kyntak weaved his way through the crowd. Club Insomniac's Creatures of the Night party was in full swing. Music pounded in the air, a bass blowing out shock waves. Lasers danced around the room, forming no patterns in particular. The dance floor was crowded, people spilling into the walkways nearby. Kyntak avoided the jostling. He had a job. Something to be done.

"Hey, babe, wanna dance?" A girl with an up-do walked straight into his path. She smiled baring fake glue-on fangs. Kyntak shook his head. She pouted and tugged on his arm. Kyntak grabbed one of her pink highlights and tugged playfully. She released him in favor of fixing her hair.

"Sorry." He gave her a wink as he forced his way through the crowd. A fair distance away he rolled his eyes. That was why he never went to clubs. The fake wedding ring on his finger never deterred anyone at a club.

He ordered a coke, the drink because crack was whack (and he had a drug test scheduled for next week), and chose a spot that allowed him a good vantage point of the intersection. A few minutes left. That was all he had. He spied the tracks.

He had spent the remainder of the afternoon asking around his old haunts and cataloging his information. His other informants had given him similar information in hushed whispers.

Vanish was the one. Grysat had already told him in code that, despite the Spades storming his office, the exchange was still on. Kyntak waited until the proper train pulled in. There. Agents were ready to storm the area.

Where was Six? Kyntak looked panickedly over the departing crowd. There were a few skin heads but none that was his skin head. He was on his feet in the next beat. By the end of the song, he was fighting off bouncers.

Left. Right.

Foot. Foot.

Hand. Head.

He plowed on. His actions meant nothing.

Six wasn't there.

SIX WASN'T THERE.

Outside, he shoved through the crowd. No Six. Anywhere.

His breath caught in his throat as someone opened fire. He dragged a little girl and her mother down behind a car with him. The child was calm about the whole thing. The mother, not so much. He figured it was a taxi and shoved them in.

"Far away as possible." The cabbie nodded and sped off when Kyntak tossed a roll at him. He stared around. Most of the civilians had taken cover. There were a few that didn't those were all dressed normally. But, they carried guns with enough ammo to make him imported cheese. _Avoid those._

He ran as fast as he could when a hail of bullets tore after him. Snipers. Not his best day. He could out run the bullets until… the Seawall rose up in front of him…he ran out of road. Behind him, the bullets stopped. Flipping around, He noticed the snipers going down. He saw a girl, a pink-haired and agile girl, almost literally paint the town red. She took out sniper after sniper with her own gun.

Kyntak noticed that there were a few converging behind him thanks to a convenient un-shattered window. Aiming a high kick, he knocked one into his friend. He swung his fists into the mask of another. The last was taken out by a good old bash to the head with an empty gun.

Seeing the train was leaving the station, Kyntak realized he had to come up with a plan.

Seeing a hot dog vendor's cart, Kyntak realized he had one.

* * *

Nai stared down as Kyntak ran in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION. She was ready to shoot him down herself. Then she saw it.

The cart.

She chuckled bitterly as she picked off the last sniper.

He was willing to go through all that for Six?

Why hadn't he done the same for her?

* * *

This all had to do with the angle of reflection and the tension of the fabric. After Nai had been taken, Kyntak had clocked in countless hours training and learning most of Six's techniques. Adding that to his ChaoArmy training, he was a powerhouse. But, that didn't stop his guilt. No matter what the psychiatrist said, he wasn't trying to compensate for anything. _Okay, maybe a little._ Kyntak admitted as he launched himself at the cart.

The idea was simple: not tear through the fabric. He had learned a few things. Actually, he learned a lot by wiping the floor with Six's training program but he like to be modest. As he was saying, he learned a few things. One of those things was a thing he didn't bother to learn in school, the law of reflection.

The law of reflection stated that the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. Incidence was when the bean hit the surface. That meant the angles were of equal measure when using the surface or the normal, a ling perpendicular to the surface, as the other edge of the angle. That was why he hated math. Anyhow, the reflection beam was what he was going for, see, his idea was to act like a ray of light.

He would bounce off the surface and land on the train. _Hopefully._

The top of the cart was smooth, a perfect subject. He knew that it was pressed against a streetlamp and multiple cars. Worst case scenario, he would shift them all a few meters. It wasn't stable like the walls of Six's house of even Harry's chest, yes he had tested it on a robot, but it would do. He calculated that he was close enough. He took a leap of faith. _Maybe those last few decimal places I rounded off won't be too much of a problem. _

Kyntak felt the air lift by him as he few. His arm were stretched out ready to grab onto the train if need be. Looking at his trajectory now, he only hoped he would not hit the side of the cars. Going splat would not be the best plan. None the less, the air was cool across his skin. It was almost relaxing.

The last time he experienced this was when he jumped off the crane with Six. That was another life-time ago. Back when they were grudging comrades and not real friends. The time before that resulted in almost getting caught in a drugs bust. Not that that mattered now that he was going to go splat.

But, by some miracle, his hand grasped the latch on the edge of the train. The moment of force almost tore his arm form its socket and knocked the air from his lungs. Kyntak could feel the muscles in his arms strain as he fought to get a better grip. The sweat on his hands made the metal slippery. His sense of motion readjusted as the motion of the train pulled him along. It wasn't the train that was moving now, well it still was. It was the rest of the scenery. He decided not to look down. His hair whipped across his face. _Forgot to get a haircut._

Below, him his feet were dangling. Kyntak imagined how fast the train was going and guessed his chance of survival if he fell. The odds were not in his favor. _Better not to think about it._

In a herculean effort, Kyntak hauled himself up from the side of the train and lay on the top. A few seconds later, he realized with a jolt that the train wasn't headed for the typical route. It was taking the Seawall route, reserved for cargo… _Oh._

Knowing it wasn't going to hurt, Kyntak dialed the number. A weary voice came over the line. "King of Hearts."

"Howdy do?" Kyntak trilled over the noise.

"What?" The interrobang was evident in his response.

"Yeah. I'm gonna drop my phone on a train. You mind tracking it?"

There was a splutter. "Drop your phone?"

"Yeah." Kyntak grinned at King's inability to speak. "Three, two, one." He dropped it into the nearest car. He could hear king screaming his name in frustration.

Kyntak waited a few moments. In a another five minutes or so the train would reach the end of the tracks. No, this train was headed off somewhere else and he didn't have time to see where. He got up and waited, just until the train reached a place where, if he jumped, he could live.

"Three." He took a breath and judged the distance.

"Two." He started running.

"One." He let his feet leave the metal train top.


End file.
